I celebrated a birthday yesterday, ending in “O”  So in honor of this special day, I am posting a delicious brownie recipe.  You can choose to make it either in the original, moderate or low fat versions.  All are delicious!  If you do not have apple sauce consider substituting pumpkin or Greek yogurt instead!

Brownies

Serving size and frequency of eating are important factors in deciding when to change sweet baked products. This example offers the alternative of replacing margarine with applesauce.

Original                                       Moderate                                    Low Fat

½ cup margarine                           ¼ cup margarine                          Omit

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce                ½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup sugar                                     1 cup sugar                                  1 cup sugar

1 egg                                                 1 egg                                              2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla                         1 teaspoon vanilla                        1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup flour                                    ¾ cup flour                                       ¾ cup flour

¼ cup cocoa                                    ¼ cup cocoa                                     ¼ cup cocoa

¼ teaspoon baking powder         ¼ teaspoon baking powder          ¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt                               ¼ teaspoon salt                               ¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped pecans                   ¼ cup chopped pecans                   Omit

Spray a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick spray coating; set aside. In mixer bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Pour into pan and bake at 350 °F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Yield: 16 servings

Approximate nutritional values per serving:

153 calories                                    117 calories                                     78 calories

9 grams fat                                     5 grams fat                                      0.2 grams fat

49% calories from fat                  34% calories from fat                   3% calories from fat

13 mg cholesterol                         13 mg cholesterol                          0 mg cholesterol